Creative Calgary Congress — Exploring ways that the arts and artists can play a leadership role in making Calgary a more curious, compassionate and creative place for all citizens.
Creative Calgary Congress 2016
When you look at the opportunities in Calgary for the development of a creative economy, the time is ripe…
On November 22, 2016 a gathering took place to share ideas and explore ways that the arts and artists can play a leadership role in making Calgary a more curious, compassionate and creative place for all citizens.
Calgary Arts Development President and CEO Patti Pon hosted the event. She started the day by “… acknowledging that we are on the traditional lands of the people of Treaty 7. It is my privilege and honour to share in the stewardship of this land.”
After a prayer from Elder Regina Crowchild from the Tsuut’ina Nation, Patti welcomed everyone and the event was officially underway.
Living a Creative Life
As a result of our year as a Cultural Capital of Canada in 2012, Calgary Arts Development led a rigorous community consultation process to create an arts strategy for our city. The strategy was finalized in January 2014 and given the name Living a Creative Life. It articulates Calgarians’ shared goals for the arts in five focus areas: Creative Communities, Centre City Arts District, Arts Incubation, Artistic Exchange, and Youth & Education.
The overarching vision of that strategy is that Calgary is a place that empowers every resident to live a creative life, fuelling a vital, prosperous and connected city.
Since launching the strategy, more than 120 organizations have become signatories — many of whom participated in the Creative Calgary Congress 2016. And although we continue to do the important work of tracking tactics and goals with the signatories, we are also taking steps to promote the concept of living a creative life so it will become more than an arts strategy — it will become a movement. It will advance the notion that living a creative life is a right, not a privilege, and it will become a way of life — something that is part of making Calgary a great place to make a living and a great place to make a life.
Congress 2016 was an opportunity to test our hypothesis that when Calgarians live creative lives, the result is a more connected, vibrant and prosperous city. And, further, that artists and other creatives can be leaders in making this a better city for all citizens.
“There is a time imperative for this work,” said Pon. “When you look at what’s happening in the world — there seem to be more things dividing people than uniting them. And when you look at the opportunities in Calgary for the development of a creative economy, the time is ripe. So let’s step forward now and use the special power of the arts to ensure Calgary becomes an even more curious, compassionate and creative city for all Calgarians.
The Morning
During the morning we heard from some inspirational Calgarians whose job it was to provoke our thinking.
Colin Jackson, Community Leader — We are called at this time in history to be big and bold…
Jim Dewald, Dean of the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary — In the future there will be no distinction between ‘regular’ businesses and social entrepreneurship…
Lauren Voisin, Youth Participant, Owner robotsrfun.com — The sky is not the limit any more…
Jim Button, Businessman, Marketing Expert, Community Leader — YYC this is not a time to turtle! We need to think outside of our energy box…
Dancing Parkinson’s YYC—The most ambitious goal of this program is to change medical practice…
Calgary Poet Laureate Micheline Maylor—A poetic response…
Brian Calliou, Director of Indigenous Leadership and Management at The Banff Centre — I’m going to talk to you about the concept of deep listening…
The Afternoon
During the afternoon eight groups of Activators led open sessions on a variety of topics. Participants were invited to attend whichever sessions they wanted to.
The Dance Expert — Anne Flynn: My area of expertise is dance, and I have taught thousands of dance classes…
The Business Guys—Avnish Mehta and Court Ellingson: What do we mean by shared prosperity?
The Community Activists—Cesar Cala and Teresa Woo-Paw: How do we create a more inclusive public discourse and mind frame amidst all our diversities and differences?
The Artists—Col Cseke and Elaine Lee: What happens when we focus on actions rather than conversation?
The Artists—Cowboy Smithx and Rio Mitchell: Storytelling and story-listening in a new way, across different worldviews.
The Artists and Equity Activists—Michele Decottignies and Jenna Rodgers: Moving from individual empowerment (inclusion) to collective impact (equity) through cross-cultural solidarity.
The Artists and Artivists—Sharon Stevens and Kenna Burima: How can the arts bring the public together to experience greater connection, solidarity, understanding, belonging, and celebration?
The Artist and Professor—Patrick Finn: We live in the midst of the largest change in technology in human history. All of the rules of the game have changed.
The End of the Day
We finished the day with a short performance by the Wrong Kind of Girls, Canada’s only preeminent, queer, ukulele comedy band, another wonderful example of creating social change through artistic practice.
Feedback
There were many ways for people to provide feedback about the day including posting their questions, reflections and inspirations on sheets of paper that were hung on a clothesline at Hotel Arts (the afternoon venue).
Hear From:
Participants as posted on the Clothesline
Sam Hester — The Visual Recorder
Stephen Hunt — Arts Writer and Blogger
Judy Lawrence — One of the day’s Synthesizers
About the Creative Calgary Congress
Calgary Arts Development produced the first Arts Champions Congress in 2011 as a meeting place for people who make Calgary’s arts sector a vibrant and exciting place to work and our city a great place to live.
Renamed the Creative Calgary Congress in 2014, it returned on November 22, 2016 as a place to share ideas and explore ways that the arts and artists can play a leadership role in making Calgary a more curious, compassionate and creative place for all citizens.
